Suction-cleaner.



W. E. SHERBONDY.

sucnom CLEANER,

W. E. SHERBONDY.

SUCION CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED IuIY 7, I9I5.

Patented Aug. 28, 19W.

2 SHEETSHSHEET 2.

' inseam.

'WILLIAM E. SHERBUNDY, Ol'" CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SUCTON-CLEANER.

Specication ofLetters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1191"?.

Applicationjlei July 7, 1915. Serial No. 38,432.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. SHER- BoNDY, a citizen of theUnited-States, residing at Cleveland, in the cunty of Cuyahoga and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSuction-Cleaners, of which the Afollowing is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to carpet sweepers ofthat variety which may bedesignated as suction carpet sweepers, the object of the invention beingto provide an improvedapparatus of this character simple inconstruction, durablein use, easy to manipulate and which willeffectively sweep a carpet and remove therefrom in an efiicientway dirt,

, lint, threads and other debris, in short a very eliicient andpositively acting hand- One of the object sof the invention is theprovision of an improved apparatus of the character speciied-whichmmfiybe used in a similarv way tothe ordinary carpet sweeper and yet do aseffective cleaning as the ordinary portable electric suction sweeper,thus doing away with thel use of a motor, which isy expensive` tooperate as well as heavy and dihcult to move around from room to room orioor to licor;

A further object ofthe invention is the provision of a suction sweeperhaving a Wide mouth or inlet opening communicating with a rotaryfan,fwhich communicates in turnV with a receptacle, such as 'a bag, .forthe reception of the dirt or debris, whereby the suction is created byan `instrumentality located between the'inlet opening ormouth and thedirt receiving vreceptacle,the `organization being such that the fan isrotated lthrough the medium` of traction wheels at very great speed ascompared with the movement of such traction wheels, whereby a largevolumeof air passes through the inlet opening or mouth, and in which themouth or intake/Mill be very close to the'fan yand the latter closeltothe opening inthe receptacle for theA dirt, therebyA obviating thenecessity ofthe dust and dirt being carried along; distance. s

A further object ofl the invention is the provision of an improvedsuction sweeper in which the fan will be rotated through themediumoft'raction wheels on the movement of such traction wheels 1n onedirectlon, as when the sweeper 1s moved forward, the

f energy imparted thereto being sufficient V during'this movement tomaintain the rotation of the fan at substantially the same speed duringthe return movement or the drawing backward of the sweeper.

The description following )will present lfurther improvements, it beingunderstood that the various details may b'e'more or less changed withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of this improvement.

In the drawings accompanying and form- .ing part of this specification,Figure l is a top view with the cover removed,` of the presentimprovement; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken in line 2 2 Fig. l;Fig.

3 is a detail View of the clutch by meansof` ,which the fan is rotatedon the movement of the'traction wheels in one direction; Fig. 4illustrates the Vmeans for supporting and ...rotating the rotary brushlocated in (the vmouth oflthe sweeper, and Fig. 5 illustrates a detailof the bag.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thedifferent figures of the drawings.

This improved suction sweeper comprises a simple casing 2 carrying theseveral working parts and to which a suitable handle is attached. Asuitable receptacle, such as a bag, is also attached for the receptionof the dirt and dust.. This casing, in the preferred form shown,comprises three members readily separable from one another to permitaccess Ato the various parts, and in the present instance these threemembers comprise a main or intermediate chamber 5 carrying the fan andthe gearing for rotatin the same. This intermediate or main cham er 5has generally ai; circular pan Aformation and maybe readily cast in onepiece of some suitable material, usually aluminum, it having an opening6 at its underside which is in communication with an eX- haust opening 7at one side.

Secured to the underside of the part 5 of the casmg is the inletcarrying member 8, having a disk formation adapted to close the opening6 of the main casing member 5 and thus form a chamber for the rotary fan9, the disk 10 of the casing member 8 having a circular opening 11 whichcommunicates with and terminates in a wide, lengthwiseextending openingor mouth 12. which in 'practice is about an inch and a half wide andabout 8 inches long. The other member of the casing comprises a cover ofpyramid form 13 secured to the top of the ings 16 on the top of thecasing member 5,

and therefore above the fan and its chamber, and located on this axle ateach end thereof is a traction wheel 17, preferably rubber tired.Located within the casing member 5 is a rotary fan 9 hereinbeforereferred to, having curved blades 18 cut away at their inner endsadjacentto the axial opening 6 thereby to increase the communica'tingspace between the inlet and the exhaust, which' fan is mounted to rotatein a slightly oblique plane relative to the surface to be cleaned, itbeing located in the passage between the mouth 12 and the opening 7which leads to the bag 19 for the reception of the dirt. This fan ismounted on an upright extending shaft 20, which is supportedfby suitableball bearings 21 on the top wall of tliecasing 5 and carries a bevelpinion 22 in mesh with a bevel gear 23 located on a horizontallysupported shaft 24 carried by suitable brackets 25 forming a part of thecasing member 5. Theopposite end of this horizontal shaft is providedwith a pinion 26. The bevel gea-r and pinion located on this shaft arepreferably formed of fiber, thereby to minimize any noise that may bepresent as the result of the meshing gears. This last pinion 26 is inmesh with a large gear 27 likewise suitably supported on the top of theeasing member 5 and to the side of which gear isrigidly secured orformed as a part thereof a small pinion 28, which is in mesh with alarge gear 29 connected with the traction wheel 17 in the manner aboutto be described, whereby on the movement of the traction wheel in onedirection the train of gearing will 'rotate the fan at very high speed,causing a large volume of air to rush into the large mouth.

Located between one of the traction wheels '17 and the gear 29 isfasuitable means for permitting the suction sweeper to be moved in onedirection, as drawn backward, with the traction wheel 17 free ofconnection with the fan operating gear 29, the movement of the sweeperin the opposite direction giving suflicient momentum to the fan to causeit to rotate at substantially the same speed during the movement of thesweeper backward, and this means consists in the present instance of asuitable clutch comprising a circular band-formed casing 30 carried bythe gear 29, which is loosely mounted on the traction axle 15hereinbefore described, the tractionV wheels being xed to the axle torotate the same.

Fixed to the axle 15 and located within.

the band 30 is a circular disk 31 having cut-away portions 33, three innumber, see

loosely in their cut-away portions and thusv leave the traction wheelsfree of connection with the gear 29, while the fan will continue,

to-operate owing to the momentum gathered during the movement of thesweeper in the y other direction.

Locatedin the mouth 12 of the sweeper isa. rotary brush 35 forfacilitating the sweeping. The end walls of the mouth 12 are providedwith enlarged openings 36 through which the'ends of the'brush Vshaftpass, such shaft having on each end thereof a pinion V37. The brushshaft is journaled in a pair of movable or shiftable plates 40, eachpivotally supported at its forward end on the outer wall of the mouth12, see Fig. 4, and each is provided with a slot 41 through which passesa pin or screw 42 for limiting the movement of the plate, and connectedto each of the plates is a small spring 38 the opposite end of which issecured to the back wall of the mouth 12, these springs serving thepurpose of returning one of the parts to normal position relative to theother in a manner which will be readily understood. Carried by each ofthe plates 40 is a rubber tired traction' wheel 43 provided on its innerside 37 hereinbefore referred to, y whereby on -the movement of thesetraction wheels the brush is rotated. These pivoted plates permitrelative movement of the brush and mouth of the suction sweeper; that isto say, on the movement of the sweeper forward under pressure thetraction wheels carried by the plates allow the mouth of the sweeper tomove into closer engagement with the carpet or article to be swept, andon moving the sweeper backward, at which time the pressure exerted bythe user on the device is withdrawn, the mouth is lifted somewhat from`the article to be swept, thus facilitating the easier movement of theapparatus over the floor while bringing the mouth of the vdevice intocloser engagement with the carpet or article to be swept at a time whenit is necessary that this be done.

Secured to the opening 7 by some suitable clamp, preferably ofbayonetffjoint formation, as 39, is a-suitable receptacle, preferably inthe form of a bag 19, for the reception of the dirt which passes throughthe fan in a manner which will be readily understood. This bag isprovided at its outer end, openable to remove the dust, with a suitableremovable clamp 45, which, by means of a spring 46 or'any other suitablemeans, may be secured to the shiftable stick or rod 47, which isprovided with a forked end 48 attached to the main traction wheel axleand by means of which the sweeper may be moved backward land forwardover the floor by attaching the handle to the axle rather than to thecasing the tipping of the casing or the forcing of the inlet too hardagainst the floor is avoided.

The casing members 5 vand 13 are each provided with parts 50 and 5lwhich when assembled will completely inclose the gearing.

From the foregoing it will'be observed that in ,operation the revolvingbrush will serve to disturb the napl and assist in lifting the dust,dirt and lint and thus aid the suction created by the fan, so that suchdirt can be readily carried into the dust bag by the fan, and that,furthermore, the fan being of proper weight serves as a balance or flywheel so that once it is put in motion it will maintain nearly the samespeed withvery little effort exerted in the movement of the apparatus.4,

In a majority of the hand operated ma- ,chines it has been found that ifthey are not pushed sufficiently hard or fast back and forth over thefloor the mechanism which must be used does not attain suflicient speedto perform its function. In the present improvement, however, verylittle effort is required to manipulate the device, and once the fancommences to operate it maintains suiiicient speed at all times toinsure a sufficient velocity of the air to thoroughly and effectivelyclean, and it will be observed that on account of the very few movingparts present the design of the apparatus maybe very small and compact,so that it notonly may be very economically produced, but can readily beoperated under articles of furniture which are comparatively near to theoor. Moreover, the fan may-be very close to the floor, so that the dustand dirt can be easily picked up andl carried the short distance throughthe machine, thereby overcoming any possible chance of the machinebecoming clogged,

and this of courseis greatly aided on account ofthe large opening of theintake or mouthvand the large exhaust opening and by the comparativelylarge size of the fan, which insures a large volume of air'. n In otherwords, by reason of the construction'it i will be observed that althoughthe device itself is comparatively small the fan is comparatively large,the blades being quite high, so that when it is running at normal speeda very large4 volume of air is moved. From the foregoingit willbe-observed that the shaft 15 is connected with the casing above the fanand its chamber, so that large traction wheels may be used to support orsaspend the casing at the rear thereof and thus permit great speed to beimparted to the fan, while .the front traction wheels are supportedbelow the fan and its chamber, thus permitting the rear end of thecasing to be brought close to the floor and so incline such casing andits fan relatively lto the floor as to obtain the advantageshereinbefore referred to.

In conclusion, it will be observed that I have 'provided a very muchsimplified and effective suction sweeper readily and easily operated inthe way in which an ordinary 4carpet sweeperis manipulated l'and yetobend, said casing having at the front thereof an inlet below the fanchamber and also having an outlet adjacent to the fan chamber, a fan insaid chamber of a size and weight to serve as a balance or fly wheel sothat once the fan is put in motion it will be maintained atsubstantially thesame speedy with very little e'ort exerted in themovement of th/e sweeper, an upright shaft to which the fan is secured,a pair of traction wheels connected with the casing, and gearingconnecting said traction wheels with the shaft for rotating the fan.

2. A manually operative suction sweeper -comprising a casing inclined toa horizontal plane and having a fan chamber extending from front to rearof the casing with the rear end thereof'closer to the floor than itsfront end, said casing having at the front thereof an inlet below thefan chamber and also having an. outlet adjacent to the -fan chamber, asweeping instrumentality located adjacent to the inlet, a pair of'traction wheels connected with the casing below the fan chamber andwith the sweeping instrumentality for rotating it, a fan in the fanchamber of a size and weight to serve as a balance or fly wheel so thatonce the sweeper is put in motion the fan will be maintained atsubstantially the same speed with very little effort exerted in themovement of the sweeper, anupright shaft to which the fan whereby owingto the construction of the fan the rotation ythereof will continue atsubstantially the same speed as during the forward movement of thesweeper, the organization being such thatthe fan is driven at greatspeed as compared with the speed of rotation of the traction Wheels/ 3.A manually operative suction sweeper comprising a casing inclined to ahorizontal plane and having a fan chamber extending from front to rearof the casing with the rear 'thereof closer to the floor than its frontend, saidfcasing having at the front thereof an inlet below the fanchamberl and also having an outlet adjacent to the fan chamber, a fan insaid chamber of a size and weight to serve as a `balance or fly wheel sothat once the fan is put in motion it will be maintained atsubstantially vthe 4 same speed with very little effortexerted in themovement of the sweeper, an upright shaft to which the fan is secured, apair of traction wheels connected with the casing and having a diametersubstantially coincident with the height of the casing, and gearingconnecting said traction wheels with said fan,the ratio thereof ascompared with f ing it, a fan chamber of relatively large diameter ascompared with the diameter and heightcf the casing, a large diameterlight weight iian'constructe'd to form a balance or fly wheel and torotate at high speed in said fan chamber and of substantially thediameter of said fan chamber and having its axis transverse to' ahorizontal plane, said fan being located in closer proximityV at oneside than at its other to the article to be cleaned thereby to bring itinto closer relationship to the work to be done, the inlet and-exhaustcommunicating with the fan A chamber through'a relatively largeuninterrupted opening, apair of traction wheels connected withthe-"casing, means for connecting the traction wheels with the fan forrotating it at high speed as compared with the speed of the tractionwheels, and means for disconnecting the fan from the traction wheelsduring the backward movement of the sweeper, the organization being suchthat without appreciable efort the fan will be started and its rotationcontinued in the same direction at'high speed for a considerable periodof time notwithstanding the disconnection of its source of therefrom.

l5. A manually operated suction sweeperA comprising a casing having aninlet and an exhaust, means connected with the exhaust for catching thedirt, a rotary sweeping instrumentality in said inlet, means for power 4rotating it, a fan chamber of relatively large diameter as compared withthe diameter and height of the casing, a large diameter light weight fanconstructed to form a balance or iiy wheel and to rotateat high speed insaid fan chamber and of substantially the diameter of said fan chamberand having its axis transverse to a horizontal plane, said fan beinglocated in closer proximity at one side than at its other to the articleto be cleaned thereby to bring it into closer. relationship to lthe workto be done, said fan comprisinga disk having at its unf der side aplurality of relatively long downwardly extending curved veins, the'inlet and exhaust communicating with the fan chamber through -arelatively large uninterp'rupted opening, a' pair of traction wheelsconnected with the caslng, means for connecting the traction wheels withthe fan for rotating .it at high speed ascompared with the speed of thetraction wheels, and means the sweeper, `the organizationybeing such fordisconnecting the fan from the traction 'wheels'during the backwardmovement of that without appreciable eifort'the fan will A be startedand its rotation'continued inthe samel direction at high speed for aconsiderable period of time notwithstanding the disconnection of itssource of power therefrom.

6. A manually .operated suction sweeper comprising a casing consistingof a bottom chamber having a relatively large intake mouth at its underside, a rotarysweeping instrumentality adjacent thereto,`means forrotating' it, a fan chamber above said bottom chamber andgcommunicatingtherewith by a relatively large axial opening and extending rearwardlyof said bottom chamber and located with the rear thereof insubstantially as close proximity to the surface to be cleaned as thebottom of thev intake mouth and having a relatively large diametercompared with the diameter and height ofthe casing and provided with arelatively large exhaust for the reception of means to receive the dirt,a fan in said vfanl chamber having a diameter substantially equal to thediameter of the fan chamber and extending rearwardly of the bottomchamber I with its axis transverse to a horizontal plane and constructedto serve as a balance-or Hy wheel so that once the fan is put in motionit will be .maintained at nearly the same speed with very little effortexerted in the movement of the sweeper, a shaft carrying said fan, apair of traction wheels supported on the casing, gearing connecting saidtraction wheels with the fan shaft to rotate -thefan at high speed ascompared with the sweeper.

7. Apmanually'operated suction sweeper comprising a casing having aninlet and an exhaust, dust collecting means connected to the exhaust, arotary brush in the casing adjacent to the inlet, means for rotating thebrush, a fan within the casing and having its axis transverse to ahorizontal plane and of a size and weight to serve as a balance or ilywheel so that once `the fan is put in motion it will be maintained atnearly the same speed with very little eifort exerted in the movement ofthe sweeper, a shaft carrying the fan, traction wheels carriedv by thecasing, gearing between the traction wheels and the fan shaft forrotating the fan at high speed as compared with the speed of rotation ofthe traction wheels and means for disconnecting the fan from thetraction wheels during the backward movement of the sweeper, theorganization being such that without appreciableei'ort the fan will bestarted and its rotation continued in the same direction at high speedfor a considerable period of time notwithstanding the disconnection ofits source of power therefrom.

8. A manually operated suction sweeper comprising a casing having aninlet and an exhaust, dust collecting means connected to the exhaust, arotary brush in the casing adjacent to the inlet, means for rotating thebrush, a fan within the casing and vhaving its axis transverse to ahorizontal plane and of a size and weight to serve as a balance or iiywheel so that once the fan is put in motion it will be maintained atnearly the same speed with very little eort exerted in the movement ofthe apparatus, a shaft carrying the fan, traction wheels carried by thecasing, @fearing between the traction wheels and the an shaft forrotating the fan at high speed as compared with the speed of rotation ofthe traction wheels, and means for disconnecting the fan from theAtraction wheels during the backward movement of' the sweeper, theorganization lbeing such that without appreciable eort the fan will bestarted and its rotation continued in the same direction at high speedfor a consider- :.ble period of time notwithstanding the disconnectionof its source of power therefrom, said iiy wheel fan comprising a diskhaving at its under side a plurality of curved and downwardly projectingwide veins cut away at their inner ends to provide an increased spacecentrally of the fan in direct communication with the inlet. y

9. A manually operated suction sweeper comprising a casing consisting ofa bottom chamber having a relatively large intake mouth at its underside, .a rotary sweeping instrumentality adjacent to said mouth,

means for rotating it, a fan chamber above the bottom chamber andcommunicating therewith by a', relatively large axial opening andextending rearwardly of the bottom chamber and located with the rearthereof in substantially as close proximity to the surtake mouth andhaving a relatively large diameter as compared with the diameter andheight lof the casing and provided with a relatively large exhaustadapted to receive dust collecting means, a cover chamber above the fanchamber, a fan in said fan chamber and constructed to serve as a balanceor iiy wheel so that it may be easily and quickly put in motion and oncein motion be `maintained Vat nearly the same speed with very littleeffort exerted in the movement of the sweeper, said fan having its axislocated transverse to a horizontal plane, an upright shaft carrying saidfan and extending into the cover chamber, a pair of traction wheelssupported on the casing, gearing locatedkpartly in the cover chamberabove the fan for connecting said'traction wheels and upright shaft torotate the fan at high speed as compared with the speed of the tractionwheels, and means for disconnecting the fan from the traction wheelsduring the backward movement of the sweeper.

`. l0. A manually operated suction sweeper comprising a casing having awide intake opening and an exhaust opening, a fan chamber therebetweenand located in an inclined plane relatively to the floor, a fan in saidchamber, traction wheels for supporting saidcasing, driving gearingbetween said traction wheels and said fan for ro- 'tating the latter, arotary brush located in said intake opening, traction wheels inconnection with said brush for rotating it, and means connectingsaidlast traction wheels with the casing adjacent to the intake openingwhereby the .casing may be shifted relatively to said traction wheelsand into closer relationship with the floor.

11. A manually operated suction sweeper comprising a casing havingthreesuperlmposed chambers, one a bottom chamber having an intake opening inproximity to the iioor, an intermediate chamber above said bottomchamber and inclined relatively to a horizontal plane and having at oneside an exhaust, a rotary fan supported in said intermediate chamberwith its axis transverse to i a horizontal plane, a cover chamber abovesaid fan chamber, an upright shaft extendtraction wheels for supportingsaid casing,-

a horizontal traction wheel shaft carrying said wheels, and intermeshinggears between said pair of horizontal shafts.

face to be cleaned as the bottom of the in- 12. A suction sweepercomprising a casing having an intake opening, plates pivotally securedto the outer side Walls of said opening whereby said plates and casinghave relative movement, a brush Within said opening and journaled insaid plates, traction wheels carried by said plates and connected Withsaid brush for rotating the same,

and resilient means connecting the plateswith the casing.

13.. A suction sweeper comprising a casing having an intake opening,plates pivotally secured to the outer side Walls of said opening wherebysaid plates and casing have relative movement, a brush Within saidopening and journaled in said plates, traction l .l Wheels carried bysaid plates and connected with said brush for rotating the same, re-

silient means connecting the plates With the casing, and a stop forlimiting the rela the same, a spring connectingthe plates with thecasing, the .pivotal connection of the plates with the casing being atthe front side of the brush shaft and the spring connection being at therear side thereof.

15. A manually operated suction sweeper comprising a ',asing consistingof a bottom chamber having at its under side an inlet mouth, a coverchamber' and therebetween a fan chamber communicating With the bottomchamber and having an exhaust, a rotary fan in the fan chamber, anupright shaft carrying the fan and extending into the cover chamber, apair of parallelly located shafts, one extending crossWise of the casingthrough the cover chamber and the other extending into the cover chambertoward the upright shaft, a pair of traction Wheels carried by the irstshaft, a stub shaft carried by thecasing, gearing carried by said shaftsfor imparting movement from the traction` Wheels to the fan, and meansconnected with the traction Wheels for disconnecting the fan therefromon the back- Ward movement of the'sweeper.

Signed at Gleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, this3rd day of July, 1915.

WILLIAM E. SHERBONDY.

